1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surface coverings, particularly surface coverings having a natural appearance. The present invention further relates to methods of making these types of surface coverings.
2. Description of the Related Art
A growing consumer preference for natural materials or "looks" simulated to natural wood, stone, marble, brick, and granite now exists for all types of surface coverings such as flooring. The perception of natural flooring, for instance, at an inexpensive price provides a high value, acceptable style, and luxury appearance.
The natural look of resilient vinyl floorings, for instance, made by gravure printing in conjunction with chemical embossing technology, does not quite impart the realistic appearance of true wood, stone, and the like. The subtle texture of wood grains and stone cannot be achieved by chemical embossing technology which develops the texture by reacting the inhibitor in the ink with a blow agent added in a pre-gel layer under heat and during a fusion process. In general, the texture created by the chemical embossing technique does not have a well-defined sharpness of real, natural products. In other words, chemical embossing has the disadvantage of being capable of making only rounded edges and there is great difficulty in controlling the depth of the embossing. In addition, this process leads to a texture which is too deep to be realistic. Mechanical embossing, on the other hand, is capable of reproducing the subtile, sharp, and shallow textures of natural wood, stone, marble, brick, etc. However, embossing in register with the printed design is very difficult with mechanical embossing.
Accordingly, there is a need for surface coverings having a realistic, natural "look" or appearance of wood, stone, marble, granite, or brick and methods of making the same.